Methods and systems for processing and communicating financial transaction data

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for processing the financial information of a client of a financial institution. One method embodiment includes receiving data from an overdraft data source including at least one overdraft occurrence associated with a transaction performed in association with the client; analyzing the overdraft occurrence in an overdraft application to determine a cause and disposition of the overdraft occurrence in connection with the cause of the overdraft occurrence; and, communicating an overdraft report associated with the analyzing step to a manager associated with the client. Additional system and computer-readable medium embodiments of the present methods are also provided. In another aspect of the present methods and systems, historical overdraft issues are analyzed and reported to the management of a financial institution. System and computer-readable medium embodiments of these analysis and reporting methods are also provided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present methods and systems generally relate to receiving,processing, communicating and analyzing data related to financialtransactions.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many financial institutions such as corporate banks, for example,provide clients with a wide range of financial services, including loanservices and cash management services. The use of these financialservices occasionally results in an overdraft or negative financialposition associated with a particular service. The decision by thefinancial institution on how to address the overdraft occurrence,including whether to assess charges against the client, is dependent ona number of factors. Examples of such factors include the prior historyof the client with the financial institution and promised actions by theclient to address the overdraft occurrence. In any event, the financialinstitution needs to analyze the cause of the overdraft in an effectivemanner.

For example, if an overdraft occurrence in a client account results froma bank error in posting deposits or debiting withdrawals, the bank couldextend credit to the client without imposing overdraft charges. However,when the client is a chronic offender of permitting an account balanceto fall into a negative position, the bank might decide not to extendcredit and impose an overdraft charge on the client. It can beappreciated that the decision by the financial institution for eachoverdraft situation depends on accessibility of information related tothe details of the transaction and any actions of the client that mayhave caused the overdraft occurrence.

In conventional practice, a manager for a given client has primaryresponsibility for researching overdraft occurrences and decidingwhether to pay or return overdraft items with or without imposingcharges on the client. In view of the increasing volume of transactionsconducted by various clients, it has been recognized that centralizedprocessing of overdrafts could provide an enhanced degree of riskoversight and promote processing efficiencies. Employment of one or moreoverdraft representatives has become necessary to review and researchoverdraft information on a periodic basis. Typically, on a daily basis,a team of overdraft representatives submits written overdraft reports tothe manager responsible for a particular client account. The managersreview the submitted information and determine how to dispose of theoverdraft condition. This approval usually requires a signed paper copyof the overdraft report to be faxed and mailed back to the centralizedoverdraft representative function for archiving.

It can be seen, however, that this manual process does not value thetime of the manager involved with resolving a significant volume ofoverdraft transactions. Nor does this process sufficiently frustrateefforts by unscrupulous clients conducting “check kiting” schemes, forexample, and other similarly fraudulent activities associated withoverdraft conditions. Since there is inherent delay in manual processingof information related to the financial status of a client, such schemescan be difficult to detect and halt. Moreover, federal laws andregulations related to financial transactions generally require quickdecisions on the disposition of items applied to a client account. Allof these factors drive the need for more effective processing andcommunication of overdraft related data.

It has become evident that an effective centralized overdraft effort canhave improved access to client information and more efficient means forcommunicating overdraft occurrences to managers. This overdraft effortcan also have scalability in its processes sufficient to address theneeds of the many managers in the financial institution, and not merelyservice a few select departments. Methods and systems are needed thatpermit overdraft representatives to communicate their analysis ofoverdraft occurrences to managers and promptly dispose of thoseoccurrences. Methods and systems are also needed that permit managersand others to view current and historical summaries of overdraftoccurrences and identify and address trends that impact the policies ofthe financial institution.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems are provided for processing the financialinformation of a client of a financial institution. One methodembodiment includes receiving data from an overdraft data sourceincluding at least one overdraft occurrence associated with atransaction performed in association with the client; analyzing theoverdraft occurrence in an overdraft application to determine a causeand disposition of the overdraft occurrence in connection with the causeof the overdraft occurrence; and, communicating an overdraft reportassociated with the analyzing step to a manager associated with theclient. Additional system and computer-readable medium embodiments ofthe present methods are also provided.

In another aspect of the present methods and systems, overdraft issuesare analyzed and reported to the management of a financial institution.System and computer-readable medium embodiments of these analysis andreporting methods are also provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram depicting one embodiment of a system forprocessing data related to one or more overdraft occurrences in afinancial institution;

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram showing one embodiment of a method forprocessing data related to one or more overdraft occurrences in afinancial institution;

FIG. 3 is an example of a screen display provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 4A is an example of a screen display provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 4B is an enlarged, sectional view showing an undisplayed portion ofFIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is an example of a screen display provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 5B is a tabulation showing examples of information that can bedisplayed in a portion of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C is a tabulation showing examples of information that can bedisplayed in a portion of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6 is an example of a screen display provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 7 is an example of a screen display provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 8 is an example of a screen display provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 9 is an example of a screen display provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 10A is an example of a screen display provided in accordance withan embodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 10B is an example of a screen display provided in accordance withan embodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 11 is an example of a screen display provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 12 is an example of a screen display provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 13 is an example of a response provided in accordance with anembodiment of a method and system for processing financial data;

FIG. 14A is an example of a summary report provided in accordance withan embodiment of a method and system for processing financial data; and,

FIG. 14B is an example of a sort performed on the summary report of FIG.14A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The term “overdraft” as applied herein includes the condition of havinga negative financial position such as, for example, a negative checkingaccount balance caused by a request to draw more funds from the accountthan were available at the time of the withdrawal request.

Referring now to the figures, methods and systems are provided forreceiving information related to the financial status of a clientincluding, for example, occurrences of overdraft conditions associatedwith transaction of financial items conducted by the client. Data isreceived from an overdraft data source 2 which can be a main framecomputer, for example, including a batch of accounts that reflect anoverdraft condition in one or more accounts of one or more clients.These clients can include, for example, commercial entities that accessa financial service provider such as a commercial banking institution.These financial institutions include service providers that may providesavings accounts, checking accounts, loans, and other similar financialproducts to the commercial entities. Items used in financialtransactions can include, for example, checks drawn against a checkingaccount, debits, loan payments and the like.

The overdraft data source 2 identifies negative positions, includingoverdraft occurrences, in one or more client accounts. In oneembodiment, these overdraft occurrences are sorted by the name or otheridentifying indicia of an overdraft representative 16 (“ODR”), who isresponsible for reviewing, researching and documenting the circumstancesof a given overdraft occurrence. The overdraft data source 2 generatesan extract that is adapted for import into an overdraft application 4.The overdraft application 4 can be embodied, for example, as one or moresoftware applications programmed into the “LOTUS NOTES” environment. Theoverdraft application 4 includes, among other things, a resourcesdatabase 6, a client database 8, a lending authority database 10, areport database 12, and an overdraft document database 13. In addition,a chronic report database 12A is provided in connection with the reportdatabase 12. In one aspect of the present methods and systems, one ormore reports can be generated in the chronic report database 12A basedon one or more criteria associated with client accounts. The chronicreport database 12A may also interact with external reports 11 togenerate overdraft information for one or more clients. Each of thesedatabases 6, 8, 10, 12, 12A, and 13 is operatively associated with theoverdraft application 4 and each is described hereinafter in furtherdetail.

In step 32 of one method embodiment, a conventional software programreads an extract file, which is generated in the overdraft data source2, and which includes overdraft occurrence data associated with one ormore overdraft occurrences. This software program loads the overdraftoccurrence data into the overdraft application 4. The overdraftapplication 4 assigns each overdraft occurrence to an overdraftrepresentative ODR 16 for further processing. This assignment ofoverdraft occurrences can be accomplished by requiring that a particularODR 16 be responsible for a particular characteristic of the overdraftoccurrence such as, for example, in which cost center of the financialinstitution the client is serviced.

In one embodiment of the present methods and systems, an ODR 16 logs into the overdraft application 4 through a conventional application server14 and accesses the overdraft application 4. In one example embodimentof the present methods and systems, FIG. 3 shows the view seen by an ODR16 in the overdraft database 13 when the ODR 16 opens an overdraftreport associated with an overdraft occurrence. The overdraft database13 includes data related to one or more pending overdraft occurrences 7Aand one or more approved overdraft occurrences 7B. It can be appreciatedthat one or more fields and/or action buttons on an overdraft report canbe configured to be seen only by a particular ODR 16 or group of ODR's16. In one embodiment of the present methods and systems, thisconfiguration of visible and non-visible functionality is determined bythe security level assigned to the user within the resources database 6.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a user document contained within the resourcesdatabase 6. This user document can be employed to record data associatedwith a user such as name, title, contact information and the like, aswell as a resource type in field 72 for the user. Examples of selectionsfor designating the resource type in field 72 for a user are shown inthe menu listings of displays 74A and 74B. In one aspect, the userdocument can also be used to specify what approval authority aparticular user possesses to approve a recommended action for a givenoverdraft occurrence. This approval authority can include the authority,for example, to approve overdraft occurrences up to a predetermineddollar amount limit. In addition, in one aspect of the present methodsand systems, approval authorities only have the ability to decide thedisposition of the overdraft occurrence and add comments to theoverdraft report but cannot alter other data shown on the overdraftreport.

In another aspect of the user document of FIGS. 4A and 4B, a recordedline phone number can be inserted in field 76 to indicate a phone linethat can be used to record conversations between the ODR 16 and otherpersonnel who may be contacted to resolve a particular overdraftoccurrence. It can be appreciated that recordings obtained from use ofthe recorded phone line can be employed in research and analysisperformed by the ODR 16 and others.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the ODR 16 designated in field 52 can review,for example, a client name in field 54 and market and cost centerinformation in field 56 in association with the overdraft occurrence.The market and cost center code entered in field 56 is typically relatedto geographical and/or industry information for a client. Onemarket/cost center code, for example, may indicate that a particularclient is in a Philadelphia, Pa. market and is in the health careindustry. As can be seen, an assigned ODR representative in field 58 maybe available for a given client's overdraft occurrences. In addition, anadministrative assistant who can serve as a recipient of copies ofcorrespondence such as correspondence related to an overdraftoccurrence, for example, can be shown in field 60. As discussed furtherhereinbelow, the administrative assistant entered in field 60 may needto coordinate efforts with an approval authority designee to decide onan action or actions to be taken in response to an overdraft occurrence.The status of a particular overdraft occurrence can also be displayed infield 62 as shown.

Once this information is validated, the ODR 16 can click a “PopulateFields” button 64 and the overdraft application 4 automaticallycompletes information on one or more fields contained on the overdraftreport. The “Populate Fields” button 64 can also enter data into theoverdraft report from the client database 8 and the resources database6. The overdraft application 4 also draws information from the lendingauthority database 10 to enter one or more approval authorities who willapprove the disposition of the overdraft occurrence. The results ofpushing the “Populate Fields” button 64 are shown in FIG. 5A.

As shown in FIG. 5A, an illustration of a populated overdraft report isprovided with various fields of information related to an overdraftoccurrence. The date of the overdraft is shown in field 82 and theaccount overdrawn is shown in field 84. Information on the dollar amountand type of the overdraft occurrence is shown in portion 86 of theoverdraft report. The report also presents information on the product(field 88), the error type (field 90), and the category (field 92)associated with the overdraft occurrence. Examples of entries for fields88, 90 and 92 are illustrated in the tabulation of FIG. 5B. Comments onthe overdraft occurrence can be entered by the ODR 16 in field 94 asshown. In addition, a disposition code can be entered in field 96 toinstruct one or more systems on resolution of the overdraft occurrence.Examples of disposition codes that can be entered in field 96 are shownin FIG. 5C.

FIGS. 6 through 9 illustrate aspects of an example embodiment of theclient database 8. FIG. 6 is an initial screen shown upon entry into theclient database 8 that includes links to a “General Information” section(FIG. 7), an “Internal Contact Section” (FIG. 8) and an “Overdraft DeskSection” (FIG. 9). FIG. 7 shows the General Information section, whichincludes information about the client including, for example,market/cost center, segment, administrative assistant (AA), and otherdata associated with the client. FIG. 8 shows the Internal ContactSection, which includes data related to personnel of the financialinstitution who are assigned to a particular client. As shown, thesepersonnel can include relationship managers—RM's (122, 128); accountmanagers—AM's (122); treasury managers—TM's (124); and portfoliomanagers—PM's (126); among others, as well as an ODR 16 (130) associatedwith the client.

FIG. 9 shows the Overdraft Desk Section which includes contactinformation and approval designates for use in researching, analyzingand resolving overdraft occurrences associated with a given client.Sample client contact information is shown in portion 140 of thissection. Examples of approval designates suitable for approvingoverdraft occurrences for a given client are shown in fields 142, 144and 146. A list of treasury management accounts can also be seen inportion 148 of this section. Additional instructions and information toassist the ODR 16 in analyzing an overdraft occurrence can also beprovided in portions 150, 152 and 154 of this section, as shown in FIG.9.

In step 34, and referring again to FIG. 5A, the ODR 16 performs researchto determine the circumstances and reasons surrounding the cause of theoverdraft occurrence. The reasons may include a determination that aclient error or a financial institution error caused the overdraftoccurrence. The observations of the ODR 16 regarding this error are alsomade accessible in the overdraft application 4 for assessment of chronicoverdraft conditions. The ODR 16 may analyze the data to determine, forexample, whether the overdraft occurrence is a ledger overdraft or anuncollected overdraft. This research also includes determining thespecific transaction that caused the overdraft and whether the clienthas already funded and thereby cured the overdraft condition. It can beappreciated that many conventional human and computer resources can beused by the ODR 16 to determine the cause of the overdraft occurrence.The observations of the ODR 16 regarding the overdraft occurrence can beentered by the ODR 16 on field 94 of the overdraft report. Informationentered into the overdraft report by the ODR 16 can also be madeavailable for use in reviewing and analyzing chronic overdraftconditions associated with a particular client.

In step 36, in connection with the research of the ODR 16, the overdraftreport is further completed by entry of a disposition code in field 96for the overdraft occurrence as shown in FIG. 5A. A disposition codedecides the disposition of the item associated with the transaction thatcaused the overdraft condition. A disposition code can be defaulted toan action to be taken in the event that a manager does not respond tonotification of the overdraft condition. Dispositions can include, forexample, pay or return the item that caused the overdraft occurrencewith or without charges imposed by the financial institution.

Referring now to FIG. 10A, the ODR 16 can select one or more approvalauthorities/designates (in fields 162, 164 and 166) who can approve ODR16 analysis of the overdraft occurrence. The ODR 16 can use a “GetTitles” button 168 to retrieve title or other contact information forone or more of the approval authorities. The “Check LA” button 170 canalso be pressed by the ODR 16 to confirm whether additional approvaldesignates will be required for approval of the overdraft occurrence. Itcan be appreciated that more than one approval authority may be requiredfor a given overdraft occurrence based on a number of factors including,for example, the dollar amount of the overdraft occurrence.

In step 38, the ODR 16 can press a notify button 66 (as shown in FIG. 3)to provide notification to a manager or other approval authority of theneed to approve disposition of the overdraft occurrence. Approvalauthority alternates can also be provided in the methods and systems forfacilitating decisions on overdraft occurrences when the primaryapproval authority is not accessible to make a decision. For example, an“after hours” approval designee can be chosen to make decisions forthose times of the day or night when a primary approval authority isinaccessible to electronic mail, pager, voice mail or other notificationmeans. Notification of an overdraft occurrence can also be forwarded toan approval authority alternate by the primary approval authority, suchas in the event that the primary approval authority is not available toreview the overdraft occurrence in sufficient detail to make a decisionon disposition of the overdraft occurrence.

Notification of the overdraft occurrence can take the form, for example,of an electronic mail sent through a mail server 18 including a link topermit access by a manager 20 to the section of the overdraftapplication 4 where the overdraft report completed by the ODR 16resides. In connection with the lending authority database 10, theoverdraft application 4 can perform an auto-check of the amountassociated with the overdraft occurrence to determine whether additionalapproval authority is required. In one embodiment of a display shown inFIG. 10B, the overdraft application 4 can be configured not to permitnotification to be delivered if this additional approval authoritycondition is not satisfied.

In one embodiment of the present methods and systems, a manager 20 cango through a link in an electronic mail message or can access theoverdraft application directly, as desired, to approve the overdraftreport. In another embodiment, reports can be generated in the reportdatabase 12 based on the items the manager has approved. FIG. 11illustrates a sample embodiment of menu screens available to users ofthe overdraft application 4. As shown in portion 172 of the screen, areport of outstanding overdraft decisions can be generated for managers20 and ODR's 16 including, for example, “x” and “✓” (i.e., “check mark”)indications on the report. In one aspect, these indications can becolor-coded such that a green check mark reflects an approved overdraftreport; and a red “x” indicates an overdraft report waiting for furtheraction. As shown, the user also has access to a number of buttons inportion 174 of the screen that can activate other screens and systemsused in connection with the overdraft application 4.

In steps 40 through 42, the manager can review the overdraft report,make a pay/return decision on the outstanding overdraft item and thenapprove the decision with, for example, an electronic signature enteredinto the overdraft report (as shown in FIG. 12). In one embodiment, ifno decision is made by the manager within a predetermined time period,the system can default, for example, to a “return all” mode in which alloutstanding overdraft items are returned to the draw requestor or a “payall” mode in which all outstanding items are paid to their respectivedraw requestors. The ODR 16 responsible for the overdraft item receivesthe decision of the manager in step 46 and acts in accordance with thatdecision. This may involve changing an initial disposition code for theoverdraft occurrence to a disposition code consistent with the decisionof the manager. This disposition code can then be processed through theoverdraft data source 2 in step 48 through connection 22 in accordancewith the actions of the ODR 16. This will typically result in payment ofthe item with or without a charge to the client, or return of the itemwith or without a charge to the client.

Referring now to FIGS. 13 and 14A and 14B, in another embodiment of thepresent methods and systems, through analysis of the overdraft historyof a given client chronic problems can be identified and addressed in aneffective manner. Overdraft occurrences can be reviewed and correlatedto any number of factors including, without limitation, segment,market/cost center, and relationship manager responsible for a givenclient. This permits statistical analysis and quality control efforts tobe focused on areas where overdrafts occur with an undesirable level ofseverity and/or frequency.

A criterion can be established, for example, wherein any client whichhas three to five or more overdraft occurrences in a given time period,such as a month, is designated for further investigation. Additionalexamples of other suitable criteria include, without limitation, numberof overdraft conditions in a given number of days, number overdraftconditions in a given number of quarters, number of overdraft conditionsin a given year, and other like time period measurements associated withoverdraft conditions. These criteria can also be combined with thedollar amounts of overdraft conditions to determine whether remedialaction is required for a particular client at a certain dollar amount ofoverdraft occurrence or occurrences. Application of one or more suchcriteria to a client account or accounts may lead to one or morelimitations placed on accounts and/or products employed by the clientthrough the financial institution.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a chronic response memo that can be sent inresponse to analysis of the financial history of a particular client.This memo can be generated through the chronic report database 12Athrough its connection with the report database 12 of the overdraftapplication 4. External reports 11 can also be processed through thechronic report database 12A. These external reports 11 may provideinformation for analysis of client accounts including, for example,overdraft occurrences over a dollar amount predefined by the financialinstitution, clients exceeding a predefined number of consecutive daysin overdraft condition, a daily accumulation of overdraft occurrences,and other similar reports related to overdraft occurrences.

As shown in the example of FIG. 13, an oversight representative 182 canbe associated with a particular chronic response memo. An appropriateofficer or other manager responsible for client accounts can bedesignated such as, for example, a treasury management officer (TMO) infield 184. As discussed above with regard to external reports 11, anumber of different sources may be drawn upon to generate the chronicresponse memo. As shown, the example chronic response memo was generatedat least in part by drawing from a daily accumulative report asindicated in field 186. Any outstanding corporate account analysis (CAA)fees can also be noted on the memo as shown in field 188. Comments by anODR 16 or other person who generated the memo can be included in section190 of the memo. As can be seen, these comments are typically indicativeof the repeated or chronic nature of a particular client's financialtransactions with the financial institution. In addition, a relationshipmanager or treasury manager can add comments to the memo in field 192that may complement or respond to comments and analysis entered by theperson who generated the chronic response memo.

FIG. 14A shows a sample menu screen of choices for displaying variousreports associated with the overdraft occurrence history of a particularclient. In portion 202 of the screen, a listing of instances of chronicresponse memos generated for various clients are shown. As shown inportion 204 of the screen, summary reports can be generated for chronicresponse memos stored in the chronic report database 12A, for example,by active chronics, by segment, by AM/RM, by TM, by Market/Cost Center,by reason, by status, by obligor, by oversight representative, or allaccounts. The screen display of FIG. 14B illustrates a list of chronicresponse memos sorted by an “All Accounts” sort selection. In addition,as shown in FIG. 14A, the user can access the report database 12 and candecide to supply feedback for a chronic response memo from the menuscreen.

The benefits of the present methods and systems can be readily seen andappreciated. One benefit is centralization of management control andincreased oversight and risk control over processing overdrafts. Anotherbenefit is the capability to assess the current state of the overdraftapproval process for a financial institution. Still another benefit isenhanced data processing cycle time and reductions in management timespent on research and support issues.

The examples presented herein are intended to illustrate potentialimplementations of the present communication method and systemembodiments. It can be appreciated that such examples are intendedprimarily for purposes of illustration. No particular aspect or aspectsof the example method and system embodiments described herein areintended to limit the scope of the present invention. The configurationand specific functions of a particular screen display, for example, areprovided for convenience of disclosure.

The term “computer-readable medium” is defined herein as understood bythose skilled in the art. A computer-readable medium can include, forexample, memory devices such as diskettes, compact discs of bothread-only and writeable varieties, optical disk drives, and hard diskdrives. A computer-readable medium can also include memory storage thatcan be physical, virtual, permanent, temporary, semi-permanent and/orsemi-temporary. A computer-readable medium can further include one ormore data signals transmitted on one or more carrier waves.

It can be appreciated that, in some embodiments of the present methodsand systems disclosed herein, a single component can be replaced bymultiple components, and multiple components replaced by a singlecomponent, to perform a given function. Except where such substitutionwould not be operative to practice the present methods and systems, suchsubstitution is within the scope of the present invention.

Whereas particular embodiments of the invention have been describedherein for the purpose of illustrating the invention and not for thepurpose of limiting the same, it can be appreciated by those of ordinaryskill in the art that numerous variations of the details, materials andarrangement of parts may be made within the principle and scope of theinvention without departing from the invention as described in theappended claims. A particular choice of nomenclature to identify anelement or elements of the present methods and systems, for example, isintended merely for convenience of disclosure.

1. A computer-assisted method for processing financial information of aclient of a financial institution, said method comprising: receivingdata from an electronic overdraft data source, said data including atleast one overdraft occurrence associated with a transaction performedin association with said client; associating, via a computing system,said overdraft occurrence with an overdraft representative, wherein saidoverdraft representative is responsible for at least one of reviewing,researching and documenting the circumstances of said overdraftoccurrence; analyzing, via the computing system, said overdraftoccurrence to determine at least one circumstance surrounding a cause ofsaid overdraft occurrence and a disposition for said overdraftoccurrence in connection with said cause; identifying, via the computingsystem, at least one approval authority for said overdraft occurrence;generating, via the computing system, an overdraft report, wherein saidoverdraft report contains observations of said analyzing; notifying, viathe computing system, at least one of a manager or the approvalauthority of the need to approve disposition of the overdraftoccurrence; receiving a response by one of the manager or the approvalauthority to said overdraft report into said overdraft application; anddetermining, via the computing system, a chronic overdraft occurrencedesignation for said client in response to: (i) multiple overdraftoccurrences occurring within the same predetermined time period, and(ii) a predetermined dollar amount associated with the multipleoverdraft occurrences.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said financialinstitution includes a banking institution.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving at least one of said overdraft occurrenceinto a pending overdraft portion.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising accessing a lending authority database for identifying saidapproval authority.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said generatingstep further comprises documenting one or more reasons for saidoverdraft occurrence in said overdraft report.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein said generating step further comprises including a dispositioncode in said overdraft report.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein saiddisposition code includes a recommendation that an action to be taken inresponse to said overdraft occurrence includes paying an item associatedwith said overdraft occurrence without charging a fee to said client. 8.The method of claim 6, wherein said disposition code includes arecommendation that an action to be taken in response to said overdraftoccurrence includes paying an item associated with said overdraftoccurrence and charging a fee to said client.
 9. The method of claim 6,wherein said disposition code includes a recommendation that an actionto be taken in response to said overdraft occurrence includes returningan item associated with said overdraft occurrence without charging a feeto said client.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein said disposition codeincludes a recommendation that an action to be taken in response to saidoverdraft occurrence which includes returning an item associated withsaid overdraft occurrence and charging a fee to said client.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising identifying at least one approvalauthority alternate for addressing said overdraft occurrence.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising performing an auto-check of anapproval authority amount associated with said overdraft occurrenceprior to notifying said manager.
 13. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising communicating said manager response to said overdraft datasource for disposition of said overdraft occurrence.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, wherein if no response to said overdraft report is provided bysaid manager, communicating a default response to said overdraft datasource for disposition of said overdraft occurrence.
 15. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising generating a chronic response memo inresponse to the multiple overdraft occurrences occurring during thepredetermined time period.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining a remedial action for said client in response to apredetermined dollar amount of the multiple overdraft occurrences.
 17. Asystem for processing financial information of a client of a financialinstitution, said system comprising: a computer processor and at leastone operatively associated data storage medium comprising an overdraftapplication for receiving data from an overdraft data source, said dataincluding at least one overdraft occurrence associated with atransaction performed in association with said client, said overdraftapplication configured for assisting an overdraft representative withanalyzing said overdraft occurrence to determine at least onecircumstance surrounding a cause of said overdraft occurrence and adisposition for said overdraft occurrence in connection with said cause;at least one lending authority database operatively associated with saidoverdraft application for identifying at least one approval authorityfor said overdraft occurrence; a computer server connection forcommunicating an overdraft report associated with said analysis of saidoverdraft occurrence, wherein said overdraft report containsobservations of said overdraft application; and a mail server configuredfor: communicating a notification to at least one of a manager or theapproval authority of the need to approve disposition of the overdraftoccurrence mail; receiving a response for said overdraft applicationfrom one of the manager or the approval authority; and the overdraftapplication being configured for determining a chronic overdraftoccurrence designation for said client in response to: (i) multipleoverdraft occurrences occurring within the same predetermined timeperiod, and (ii) a predetermined dollar amount associated with themultiple overdraft occurrences.
 18. The system of claim 17, furthercomprising at least one database operatively associated with saidoverdraft application for receiving at least one pending overdraftoccurrence.
 19. A computer-readable memory medium containinginstructions for assisting a computer system to perform a method forprocessing financial information of a client of a financial institution,said method comprising: electronically receiving data from an electronicoverdraft data source, said data including at least one overdraftoccurrence associated with a transaction performed in association withsaid client; electronically associating said overdraft occurrence withan overdraft representative, wherein said overdraft representative isresponsible for at least one of reviewing, researching and documentingthe circumstances of said overdraft occurrence; analyzing said overdraftoccurrence in connection with an overdraft application to determine atleast one circumstance surrounding a cause of said overdraft occurrenceand a disposition for said overdraft occurrence in connection with saidcause, wherein the overdraft application includes an electronic computerprocessor and at least one operatively associated electronic datastorage medium; electronically generating an overdraft report, whereinsaid overdraft report contains observations of said analyzing; notifyingthrough electronic mail at least one of a manager or the approvalauthority of the need to approve disposition of the overdraftoccurrence; electronically receiving a response by one of the manager orthe approval authority to said overdraft report into said overdraftapplication; and determining with said overdraft application a chronicoverdraft occurrence designation for said client in response to: (i)multiple overdraft occurrences occurring within the same predeterminedtime period, and (ii) a predetermined dollar amount associated with themultiple overdraft occurrences.
 20. The medium of claim 19, wherein saidmethod further comprises accessing a lending authority database of saidoverdraft application for identifying said approval authority.
 21. Themedium of claim 19, wherein said method further comprises performing anauto-check of an approval authority amount associated with saidoverdraft occurrence prior to communicating said overdraft report tosaid manager.
 22. The medium of claim 19, wherein said method furthercomprises if no response is provided by said manager, communicating adefault response to said overdraft data source for disposition of saidoverdraft occurrence.
 23. A computer-assisted method for processingfinancial information of a client of a financial institution, saidmethod comprising: receiving data from an electronic overdraft datasource, said data including at least one overdraft occurrence associatedwith a transaction performed in association with said client;associating, via a computing system, said overdraft occurrence with anoverdraft representative, wherein said overdraft representative isresponsible for at least one of reviewing, researching and documentingthe circumstances of said overdraft occurrence; analyzing said overdraftoccurrence, via the computing system, to determine at least onecircumstance surrounding a cause of said overdraft occurrence and adisposition for said overdraft occurrence in connection with said cause;identifying, via the computing system, at least one approval authorityfor said overdraft occurrence; generating, via the computing system, anoverdraft report, wherein said overdraft report includes one or morereasons for said overdraft occurrence; recording, via the computingsystem, a disposition code into said overdraft report, wherein saiddisposition code includes a recommendation for an action to be taken inresponse to said overdraft occurrence; notifying through electronic mailat least one of a manager or the approval authority of the need toapprove disposition of the overdraft occurrence; receiving a response byone of the manager or the approval authority to said overdraft report insaid overdraft application; and determining, via the computing system,with said overdraft application a chronic overdraft occurrencedesignation for said client in response to: (i) multiple overdraftoccurrences occurring within the same predetermined time period, and(ii) a predetermined dollar amount associated with the multipleoverdraft occurrences.
 24. A computer-assisted method for processingfinancial information of a client of a financial institution, saidmethod comprising: receiving data from an electronic overdraft datasource, said data including at least one overdraft occurrence associatedwith a transaction performed in association with said client;associating, via a computing system, said overdraft occurrence with anoverdraft representative, wherein said overdraft representative isresponsible for at least one of reviewing, researching and documentingthe circumstances of said overdraft occurrence; analyzing, via thecomputing system, said overdraft occurrence to determine at least onecircumstance surrounding a cause of said overdraft occurrence and adisposition for said overdraft occurrence in connection with said cause;identifying, via the computing system, at least one approval authorityfor said overdraft occurrence; generating, via the computing system, anoverdraft report, wherein said overdraft report includes one or morereasons for said overdraft occurrence in said overdraft report;recording, via the computing system a disposition code into saidoverdraft report, wherein said disposition code includes arecommendation for an action to be taken in response to said overdraftoccurrence which includes at least one of: i. paying an item associatedwith said overdraft occurrence without charging a fee to said client,ii. paying an item associated with said overdraft occurrence andcharging a fee to said client, iii. returning an item associated withsaid overdraft occurrence without charging a fee to said client, or iv.returning an item associated with said overdraft occurrence and charginga fee to said client; notifying through electronic mail at least one ofa manager or the approval authority of the need to approve dispositionof the overdraft occurrence; transmitting a response by one of themanager or the approval authority to said overdraft report in saidoverdraft application; and determining, via the computing system, achronic overdraft occurrence designation for said client in response to:(i) multiple overdraft occurrences occurring within the samepredetermined time period, and (ii) a predetermined dollar amountassociated with the multiple overdraft occurrences.
 25. Acomputer-assisted method for processing financial information of aclient of a financial institution, said method comprising: receivingdata from an electronic overdraft data source, said data including atleast one overdraft occurrence associated with a transaction performedin association with said client; associating, via a computing system,said overdraft occurrence with an overdraft representative, wherein saidoverdraft representative is responsible for at least one of reviewing,researching and documenting the circumstances of said overdraftoccurrence; analyzing, via the computing system, said overdraftoccurrence to determine at least one circumstance surrounding a cause ofsaid overdraft occurrence and a disposition for said overdraftoccurrence in connection with said cause, wherein said analyzingincludes analyzing said overdraft occurrence with an overdraftrepresentative; receiving, via the computing system, said overdraftoccurrence into a pending overdraft portion; identifying, via thecomputing system, at least one approval authority for said overdraftoccurrence; identifying, via the computing system, at least one approvalauthority alternate for addressing said overdraft occurrence;generating, via the computing system, an overdraft report, wherein saidoverdraft report contains observations of said analyzing; recording, viathe computing system, a disposition code into said overdraft report;performing, via the computing system, an auto-check of an approvalauthority amount associated with said overdraft occurrence prior tonotifying said manager; notifying through electronic mail at least oneof a manager, the approval authority, or the approval authorityalternate of the need to approve disposition of the overdraftoccurrence; receiving a response by one of the manager, the approvalauthority, or the approval authority alternate to said overdraft report;and determining, via the computing system, a chronic overdraftoccurrence designation for said client in response to: (i) multipleoverdraft occurrences occurring within the same predetermined timeperiod, and (ii) a predetermined dollar amount associated with themultiple overdraft occurrences.